]]>https://npftext.wordpress.com/2014/05/30/quinn-schleh-1988/feed/0Benconsumable2aThe First Fifty Bookshttps://npftext.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/the-first-fifty-books/
https://npftext.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/the-first-fifty-books/#respondSat, 10 Jul 2010 15:04:22 +0000http://npftext.wordpress.com/?p=509With the fiftieth book in our chronological sequence, we thought to make this archive of titles public, especially since the fiftieth item is a book of poems by Burton Hatlen, our late and much-missed director. The archiving here will continue over the next few months, with covers or title pages and samples of text added to some of the old entries, and with new entries made public at regular intervals. Individual titles will be featured in greater depth at the NPF’s main blog, as this unfolding catalogue is meant as a reference point only, a place on the web to list all the people and all the works that have made the NPF what it is today.

The early history of the NPF is a little obscure in places, and since the first of the NPF books were in fact published by the University of Maine Press and others were collaborations, we are not entirely sure that our list is complete. We compiled it from old NPF catalogues and old inventory lists, and from a few keyword searches at the Library of Congress. Corrections of any sort are welcome.

The “catalogue” tab at the top of this page gives the complete list of titles, including a forthcoming title in the EP Scholarship Series. Out of print items are marked “op,” but everything else is still available for sale, and orders are not only welcome but needed to keep the NPF going. So please do think of purchasing something from our backlist!

The Marranos (the swine) was the name given to the converted Jews in Spain, the “New Christians,” more specifically those who converted from the mid-fourteenth century onward, usually under great duress. This class suffered greatly under the Inquisition, especially those who converted in response to the Edict of Expulsion of Jews of 1492. In A History of the Jews, Abram Sachar writes: “Tens of thousands of the new Christians conformed outwardly, went mechanically to church, mumbled prayers, performed rites, and observed customs. But the spirit had not been converted. There was a suspicion that converts did not baptize their children or that they immediately wiped the stain of baptism from their heads. It was believed that they secretly o bserved the Jewish holidays, ate Jewish food, retained Jewish friendships, and studied the ancient Jewish lore. The reports of numerous spies tended to confirm every suspicion.”